1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to sport fishing equipment and is particularly directed to improved means for lifting a fish from the water for hook removal and the like.
2. Prior Art
In sport fishing, once a fish is caught, it is necessary to lift the fish out of the water in order to remove the hook. Moreover, in recent years, minimum size limitations have been placed on the taking of many species of fish. Consequently, after a fish is caught, it is necessary to lift the fish out of the water to remove the hook and to measure the fish, to determine whether or not it must be released. Furthermore, in fishing tournaments, it is often the goal for the fisherman to see how many fish he can catch in a given period of time, which means when he catches a fish, he must remove the hook and return the fish to the water as quickly as possible. However, if a fish is not handled carefully during such lifting and hook removal operations, the mouth of the fish can be torn or otherwise damaged so that, even if the fish is released back into the water, it is unable to feed and, hence, is doomed to die. Consequently, both sportsmanship and ecology require that considerable care be taken in handling the fish. Unfortunately, fish are quite slippery and are difficult to handle under the best conditions. Moreover, since the hook has already punctured the skin of the fish, tearing out the skin during handling and hook removal is quite common. Furthermore, many fish are quite heavy and may struggle while being lifted out of the water, which makes handling the fish still more difficult. To overcome these problems, numerous prior art devices have been proposed for handling fish. Nets have been found to be of great assistance in lifting the fish out of the water. However, the nets do not prevent the fish from wriggling during measuring and hook removal and, hence, are of little value during these operations. Similarly, gaff hooks and the like have been used to assist in lifting the fish out of the water, but also do nothing to immobilize the fish during measuring and hook removal. In addition, numerous prior art devices have been proposed for insertion into the mouth of the fish to aid in gripping and immobilizing the fish during the measuring and hook removal operations. However, most of the prior art mouth insertion devices are formed of hard, rigid material which can easily cause, rather than prevent, damage to the mouth of the fish. Furthermore, most prior art mouth insertion devices require that, in holding the fish during hook removal, the user must hold his hand in a position which causes the fish's body to hang at an angle to its head which may cause damage and injury to the fish and which, due to the weight of the fish, causes considerable muscle strain to the user's wrists and arms.